0.2 Part two: special topics  (Page 32/39)

Identifying categories of special education

Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, andit is generally evident before age 3. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities andstereotyped movements; resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines; and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

Deaf-Blindness includes hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and otherdevelopmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or childrenwith blindness.

Deafness means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information throughhearing, with or without amplification.

Emotional Disturbance (includes schizophrenia but does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determinedthat they have an emotional disturbance) means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to amarked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance:

• An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
• An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers
• Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
• A general pervasive mood of anxiety or unhappiness or depression
• A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

More categories

Hearing Impairments means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child'seducational performance, but that is not included under the definition of deafness.

Mental Retardation means significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficitsin adaptive behavior.

Multiple Disabilities means concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness, mental retardation-orthopedicimpairment, etc.), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special educationprograms solely for one of the impairments.

Orthopedic Impairment means a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Theterm includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly (e.g., clubfoot, absence of some member, etc.), impairments caused by disease (e.g.,Poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis, etc.), and impairments from other causes ( e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns thatcause contractures).

Other Health Impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness,including a heightened sensitivity to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect tothe educational environment that is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder, or attention hyperactivitydisorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, or sickle cell anemia.